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NLJ this week: Predictions & latest developments in international arbitration

18 April 2025
Issue: 8113 / Categories: Legal News , Arbitration , ADR , International , Commercial
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What does the rest of 2025 have in store for international arbitration, and what are the key takeaways from 2024? Thomas R Snider, partner and head of international arbitration, Dalal Alhouti, knowledge development lawyer, and Robin Hayden, trainee solicitor, at Charles Russell Speechlys, set out the salient events in this week’s NLJ.

Snider, Alhouti and Hayden cover caselaw, agreements and practical developments in the field, before setting out five predictions for the year ahead.

The authors highlight, for example, that ‘self-executing “smart contracts” are increasingly likely to include arbitration provisions; however, where the agreement to arbitrate is written in code rather than natural language, we can expect to see enforcement challenges questioning whether such an agreement is “in writing”’.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Freeths—Ruth Clare

Freeths—Ruth Clare

National real estate team bolstered by partner hire in Manchester

Farrer & Co—Claire Gordon

Farrer & Co—Claire Gordon

Partner appointed head of family team

mfg Solicitors—Neil Harrison

mfg Solicitors—Neil Harrison

Firm strengthens agriculture and rural affairs team with partner return

NEWS
Conveyancing lawyers have enjoyed a rapid win after campaigning against UK Finance’s decision to charge for access to the Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has launched a recruitment drive for talented early career and more senior barristers and solicitors
Regulators differed in the clarity and consistency of their post-Mazur advice and guidance, according to an interim report by the Legal Services Board (LSB)
The dangers of uncritical artificial intelligence (AI) use in legal practice are no longer hypothetical. In this week's NLJ, Dr Charanjit Singh of Holborn Chambers examines cases where lawyers relied on ‘hallucinated’ citations — entirely fictitious authorities generated by AI tools
The Solicitors Act 1974 may still underpin legal regulation, but its age is increasingly showing. Writing in NLJ this week, Victoria Morrison-Hughes of the Association of Costs Lawyers argues that the Act is ‘out of step with modern consumer law’ and actively deters fairness
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